Lurline
Glinda the Good in Baum's Oz series. (This is not ever quoted in any of Baum's Oz books nor the official authors who followed) Lurline is a Sky Goddess (citation needed) as well as the legendary Fairy Queen who magically enchanted the Land of Oz into a land of fantasy and magic. Hence, she is looked upon as being divine, and if Oz had a religion, Lurline would be the Patron Goddess whom Ozians would pray to. The Land of Oz was once like any other part of the normal world. But when it became enchanted under Lurline's magic, it was cut off from the rest of the "real" world which made it nearly impossible to find. (The Tin Woodman of Oz) Lurline is much like a mother to the Princess Ozma, yet Ozma refers to Lurline as her "Fairy Godmother." (The Lost King of Oz) Baum's Description Lurline the Fairy Queen, is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum, author and creator of the Oz legacy. She is a figure of mystery, the one mostly responsible for the invention of fairy lands and the sole creator of Oz. Yet despite her glory and power, Lurline has very little to do with land as she looms in the shadows of the Oz stories, only being mentioned rarely, if ever. Lurline is rarely ever seen, and for the few who are lucky enough to have laid eyes upon her, Lurline is described as being extremely beautiful and luminous and the size of a giant. Being brighter than the burning sun and bigger than the glowing moon with eyes that twinkle like "falling stars shooting past Jupiter and Mercury and the many Heavens above." She is seen as a "Goldly" figure. And the creator of many other fantasy realms besides Oz which are also cut off from the real world after she enchants them with her fairy magic. Lurline does not interfere with what happens in Oz, good or bad and though she is a good Fairy Queen, she is rather indifferent about Oz's fate because she is said to be much too busy creating other lands and attending to more important duties in other realms and universes of the unknown. Lurline has many fairy children, who are the guardian angels to the lands Lurline has enchanted. They keep the lands, such as Oz beautiful and fresh, bringing the light cool breezes to hot sunny places, and carry the pollen which can be found within the spring flowers and little buttercups. They tend to the dying plants in the lands and nurse them back to health and create the moist morning due to feed the green grass that grows. Enchantment of Oz Lurline and her band of fairies came upon the Land of Oz, and seeing that the rectangular country was cut off from the rest of the world by desert on all sides, she put an enchantment on the country. The enchantment made Oz into a fairyland, and prevented all within it from dying. It also allowed animals to speak and be as sensible as humans. (The Tin Woodman of Oz) During her time in Oz, she came upon a race called the Flatheads, and as she felt sorry for them for having only half a brain, she gave each of them a can filled with the remaining half brain, so that the Flatheads could be as intelligent as everyone else. This lead to some infighting over cans of brains over the centuries, however. (Glinda of Oz) She also bestowed the Crown Magic upon the people of the little kingdom of Halidom. This consisted of three golden circlets. Circlet One gave great wisdom to the Halidonians, while Circlet Two gave them great physical strength, and Circlet Three made them skillful in handicrafts. All the circlets were to be worn by the king. She also left a fairy unicorn in the care of that kingdom. (Merry Go Round in Oz) Her work in Oz completed, Lurline left Oz, supposedly forever. (The Tin Woodman of Oz) She left a member of her fairy band behind to rule Oz in her stead. This was the baby Ozma, and she left it in the care of the King of Oz. (The Magical Mimics in Oz) :"Magical Mimics" implies that this Ozma is the same one Dorothy knows. This contradicts "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz", in which Ozma says that she comes from a long line of kings and queens, of which all the females are named Ozma. In "Tin Woodman", it is stated that Lurline leaves behind a member of her fairy band named Ozma, but it's vague whether it's the same Ozma or her ancestor. Oz History: Fairy Queens & Mortal Kings! The Story of Lurline and Pastoria of Oz... In a few versions and takes on the backstory of Oz, Lurline's character is romanticized. Many versions of her history have been altered or changed like much of the character's history in Oz has over time. Mostly due to the movie adaptations of Oz that glanced over Oz's past Royal-Reign and ancestry completely. But the most popular history that has been believed and put together in the fourteen original Oz stories by L. Frank Baum himself, and the forty official Oz books, written by authors who continued his legacy, that carried on long after his death. Is that Lurline the Fairy Queen and ethereal Goddess fell in love with a mortal man named Pastoria. Long before the Witches of Oz arrived, and long before the Wizard, Oscar Diggs crossed over the Deadly Desert, Oz was once ruled by a very old yet kind and gentle King of human blood named Pastoria. Now it is rumored that Pastoria was also once in love with a beautiful enchantress named Lurline, the Fairy Queen who processed great magical powers only for good and is credited for making Oz a fairy country by enchanting it and cutting it from the rest of the world centuries ago. When she first descended down from the heavens above, she carefully chose the land where she wanted to make Oz, Lurline used her magic to create it's breathtaking landscapes, making sparkling rivers and rocky mountains with high waterfalls, pine-filled forests and thick jungles, rainforests, vast hills, and colorful flowery meadows. And after it was finished, Lurline, Pastoria and the people of the Fairy Kingdom lived amongst all of these lovely sights for a long time in harmony and bliss. Lurline would later close off the land of Oz from the entire world, making it invisible. Lurline and Pastoria eventually came together as one and had a beautiful baby girl whom Lurline named Ozma. The daughter of the two was half human and half fairy, making her immortal like Lurline even though Pastoria was not. After that Lurline left the land of Oz to continue enchanting other lands and created other realms similar to Oz. She put Pastoria in charge which entitled him to Oz's Throne and left Ozma in his care before parting ways for good and ultimately disappearing forever and into the unknown to carry on with new duties accompanied by her band of fairy children. The King Pastoria lived a long and wise life and he became very, very old with wrinkled skin and a long white beard. Now, widowed and left on his own with a baby infant and without the guidance of Lurline, Pastoria was not a very powerful King and was only getting older. He lived in a rather small Kingdom in the middle of the land. His people were happy and content as his subjects, but the land of Oz was still inhabited by two Wicked Witches of the East and West lands and who had many people from Oz enslaved. The Wicked Witch of the West had a Golden Cap and the charm of this cap allowed her to command her Winged Monkeys to make the Winkies her Slaves. And the Wicked Witch of the East used the magic of her Silver Shoes to keep the Munchkin people in bondage. The Witches were very powerful indeed and could do as ever they pleased to anyone or thing that was unlucky to cross the Witches' paths. These Witches cast many spells upon innocent people, turning them into random houses or kitchen objects such as flower pots or candlesticks. The Wicked Witches tried many, many times to overthrow Pastoria and take over all of Oz as a whole. Unfortunately, Pastoria himself did not know anything about practicing the magic arts, for he depended on his Queen Lurline's magic. So he could not defend himself or his people, the Witches in Oz could have easily taken over and stole the King's Throne and enslaved his subjects to their own pleasing. The only thing that stopped them from truly doing so, was the other two Good Witches of the North and South who lived with the Gillikins, Tattypoo and Lady Glinda who lived in a ruby castle with Quadlings of Oz. The two Good Witches used all the power and sorcery they knew to protect poor Pastoria and his people from harm's way. But they were not strong enough to banish the Wicked Witches out of Oz or put an end to them and they're Wickedness all together. One random day, out of the clear blue sky, suddenly a large air-craft of sorts came descending down from the clouds up above, it slowly came to the ground and landed in the exact center of Oz. The people of Oz, Pastoria's subjects and even the Witches of Oz themselves had never seen such a peculiar invention. Inside the basket that was attached to the giant balloon was a man, he called himself Oscar Diggs and enthusiastically introduced himself as a great Wizard and Magician. And the people of oz believed him as they saw him perform magic tricks right before they're very eyes. The people of Oz asked if the Wizard would be the ruler of the land and he agreed that he would look after Oz and someday rid the land of its Wicked Witches if they promised to obey his every wish and demand. The people of Oz were gullible people and believed him and his promises. Thus, building the famous Emerald City in his honor and constructing the yellow brick road that leads to the main entrance. Shortly after the Wizard overthrew King Pastoria, he simply disappeared from Oz for a long, long time. The only thing he left behind was his baby daughter, the fairy child, Princess Ozma who one day would get old enough to use the magic she had, that ran in her blood, to claim her place as the rightful Heir to her father's Throne. This worried the greedy Wizard as he wanted the Throne all to himself. So one late night, the Wizard snuck into the Palace of Pastoria, and snatched the baby Princess up and disappeared into the dark night. He gave the baby Ozma to a Witch nearby named Mombi who lived in the Northlands of Oz. Mombi was not as gifted or as powerful as the Wicked Witches in Oz, but she was still very ugly inside and very Wicked nonetheless. Mombi agreed to the Wizard's offer and favor to keep the baby hidden away from the Palace and to never let anyone know where Ozma was. Mombi, transformed Ozma to disguise her as a boy named Tip to work as her personal servant and kitchen slave for many years. Subsequent tasks Lurline left Oz to deal with a dangerous threat to the land she had just created. She visited Mount Illuso, where she cast a spell on the Mimics, a deadly race of Erbs who would surely have destroyed Oz if they could have. Lurline's spell prevented them from using their magic on Oz people, but it did not protect those who came from outside of Oz. She left Ozana, a member of her fairy band, to watch over Mount Illuso. (The Magical Mimics in Oz) Later Years Lurline would hold a conference in the Forest of Burzee every 200 years with all the members of her fairy band, except Ozana who had to stay and guard Mount Illuso. (The Magical Mimics in Oz) Lurline came upon the transformed King Pastoria but was unable to undo Mombi's magic. So, she gave him his marvelous flying ears and preserved his green velvet cloak in Morrow, leaving a note that she had done so. (The Lost King of Oz) :Why Lurline returned to Oz, and why her magic could not overcome Mombi's, are unknown. Ozma and Glinda attended Lurline's bi-centennial conference in Burzee, giving the Mimics an opportunity to attack Oz, but with the help of Ozana, they were defeated. Ozma then spoke to Lurline to ask if Ozana could live in Oz, and Lurline agreed. (The Magical Mimics in Oz) In The Wicked Years Lurline, sometimes known as Lurlina, is often attributed with the creation of Oz, but belief in her is declining, as people convert to belief in the Unnamed God. There are many versions of the origin story of Oz, which are told throughout the land. But they tend to go like this. (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; Tales Told in Oz) Long before humans and trees and trolls existed, a male and female troll traveled back through time from the magic of a sorcerer, to see who had come first - man or woman. Lurline, seeing them squabbling, their conflict not resolved, she offered them a contest. She would teach them how to create a world, and then they would both create something. Whichever's creation is longer lasting would be the winner. The male created a skeleton, which was dead and so could not die; and the woman created an evergreen weave, which was eternally alive. Lurline declared both a failure, and sent them back to their own time. But Lurline was soon killed by the ghosts of her own creations, and lay dead in Oz. She was revived many years later, because the creations cause the creator to exist and vice versa. (Tales Told in Oz) Lurline was also responsible for calling a meeting that the Fox parents attended in the common story of The Witch and the Fox Babies. (Tales Told in Oz) Believers in Lurline celebrate a holiday known as Lurlinmas. (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) Background In the "Famous Forty" Lurline is never directly depicted as a character in any of the Famous Forty Oz books. She is, however, a crucial figure in the backstory and origin of Oz. L. Frank Baum first mentions her in The Tin Woodman of Oz, Chapter 12, where he states that Lurline's fairy band was passing over the isolated land of Oz when they enchanted the country; and Lurline left one of her fairies to "rule" it. Lurline then "forgot all about" Oz. Baum next mentions Lurline in Glinda of Oz, Chapters 6 and 8, where he repeats this bare origin account and names Ozma as the fairy left to rule Oz. In The Magical Mimics in Oz, Jack Snow makes Lurline a living presence: in Chapters 1 and 2, Ozma and Glinda travel to the Forest of Burzee to attend Lurline's Grand Council, held once every 200 years. (Baum never mentions Lurline in connection with Burzee; he makes Lulea queen of the fairies there, and Zurline queen of the wood nymphs.) Also, Lurline delegated a member of her band, named Ozana, to watch over the Magical Mimics, just as Ozma was placed over Oz. Lurline is not the only background character who is mentioned but does not directly appear in the Oz books. Smith, Tinker, and Hiergargo share the same status. Later writers Later authors on Oz cannot resist Lurline's lure. Edward Einhorn gives his own, more circumstantial and detailed account of Lurline and Oz in Paradox in Oz, Chapter 7. Illustrator Eric Shanower pictures her as a radiant presence. Marcus Mebes wrote a book about her, Lurline and the White Ravens of Oz. So did March Laumer, in A Fairy Queen in Oz. And so did Gil S. Joel, in The Roots of Wonder in Oz. David Hardenbrook refers to her in The Unknown Witches of Oz, where she is once again a distant presence who has been "gone for centuries." For Gregory Maguire, Lurline and Ozma are mother and daughter. (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) There is a "pagan cult" devoted to the "sprite" Lurline, though it is "out of favor." (Son of a Witch) Paul Dana makes Lurline a key supporting character in Time Travelers of Oz. He describes her court and courtiers, and her form of magic. Scott Dickerson gives his own detailed version of the story of Lurline and her enchantment of Oz, in the opening chapter of his novel The Magic Book of Oz. The Lurline story is key to the Oz fiction of Philip John Lewin. Marin Elizabeth Xiques's short story "How Oz Became a Fairyland" appeared in the 1999 issue of Oziana. In Tales of the Magic Land, Lurine is absent. Instead, her place is taken by an old wizard named Hurrikap, who wanted to have a quiet place for his retirement away from people. The enchantments included a mountain ring and a desert (which, however, didn't have the deadly properties of its Oz counterpart), animals capable of speech, and eternal summer, but not immortality. However, he failed to notice that people were already present in that land, since they were much shorter than in other places, and he was as tall as any tree, as well as rather shortsighted due to old age. Upon discovering that, he built himself a palace and ordered people to stay away from it. However, he still maintained limited contact; it was stated that he taught the people of the Magic Land the art of writing, and a millenium or two after his arrival, he helped them defeat a witch named Arachna (which occured five thousand years before the main events of the books). By the time the books begin, he is dead for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and only a few people know of him. In Family of Oz (2011), by James C. Wallace II, Queen Lurline comes down from the heavens into Munchkin City near the end of the book to bless Ozma and bestow Her Love upon everyone gathered in Her presence. She confirms that Ozma's rule is one blessed by Love and leaves everyone breathless from the experience. Category:Oz Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Fairies Category:Dieties